Saturday, January 13, 2007

I Downsized!

This might sound like not a biggie to anyone....but it IS to me!!

First off, my stash has been out of control for years. How that can be when I still turn out as many quilts as I seem to get out....means that my buying was really out of control for a long time. I didn't spend money on clothes, shoes, jewelry, manicures, fancy hair highlight jobs, facials, country club memberships, etc that a lot of "modern" women seem to spend money on.

I wasn't a coffee drinker either so none of those expensive latte's for me...I know people who have a HUGE starbucks addiction that would fund any quilter's stash buying habits!

I am a home body......and my vice? Not being able to pass up a Joann's coupon before expiration date or a "free shipping" sale on an online quilt shop....fabric (and quilts/quilting) was my drug of choice! It still is....only now, if you were to look in my house, you'd say I own the pharmacy! *LOL*

The past couple of weeks I have been working on revamping our 4th bedrioom into a small cozy den. My term as quilt guild charity quilt chairperson ended with the start of the new year, so I was able to clean out a closet and give all the guild fabric to the new person taking over. This opened space for me to start condensing....If you have seen pics of my STASH (this is only part of it, it includes stuff UNDER THE LONG ARM MACHINE and ROLLING CARTS and lots of assorted bins and baggies......and the remainder of that den-room closet. The fabric left in there after I ditched the charity stash back to it's new owner are fabrics that I have set aside to use for my own charity quilts, backings, and other weirdities that I didn't want to put in with the regular stash.

But I digress...The den room closet was now 1/2 empty, so I started to shift things around, condense a bit, make room, shuffle...and last night I actually had ONE EMPTY BIG WHITE CUPBOARD!!!You don't know how excited this made me. This means that little by little, I am seeing that I AM using up stash. Maybe not 100 yds in a year (though I must be close to it really...) and because I could donate the cupboard to DH to use in the garage for all his cycling gear, I have more space in the den room for the two new chairs that I bought :c) They will be delivered on tuesday.

Isn't it amazing how we spend so many years collecting, obtaining, gathering, hoarding.....and then we spend all this time wanting to slim down, to declutter, reorganize, simplify? There has to be life's lessons in there somewhere.

Saw your message on Stashbusters this morning too - well done! You've certainly been aiming toward this for a long time. You are a marvelous example for us all. I hope by the end of the year that I can at least eliminate a bin or two - at least that's one of my goals.

Bonnie: I'm with you. With this move, the thought occurred to me that I'm almost starting to dislike quilting because of the way I've let the fabric take over my life and my home. 2007 brings changes . . big changes!

Congrats on the stashbusting and clearing a spot on your shelves - now QUICK - put some framed photos or a nice little vase or some sort of "space saver" that you enjoy looking at in that spot! That is what I do!!! My DH laughs that I have framed family photos in all the closets - here and there - instead of in more traditional spots - but I like seeing them when I open the door, instead of piles of stuff!

Congrats on the stashbusting and clearing a spot on your shelves - now QUICK - put some framed photos or a nice little vase or some sort of "space saver" that you enjoy looking at in that spot! That is what I do!!! My DH laughs that I have framed family photos in all the closets - here and there - instead of in more traditional spots - but I like seeing them when I open the door, instead of piles of stuff!

Congrats on the stashbusting and clearing a spot on your shelves - now QUICK - put some framed photos or a nice little vase or some sort of "space saver" that you enjoy looking at in that spot! That is what I do!!! My DH laughs that I have framed family photos in all the closets - here and there - instead of in more traditional spots - but I like seeing them when I open the door, instead of piles of stuff!

Congrats on the stashbusting and clearing a spot on your shelves - now QUICK - put some framed photos or a nice little vase or some sort of "space saver" that you enjoy looking at in that spot! That is what I do!!! My DH laughs that I have framed family photos in all the closets - here and there - instead of in more traditional spots - but I like seeing them when I open the door, instead of piles of stuff!

Congrats on the stashbusting and clearing a spot on your shelves - now QUICK - put some framed photos or a nice little vase or some sort of "space saver" that you enjoy looking at in that spot! That is what I do!!! My DH laughs that I have framed family photos in all the closets - here and there - instead of in more traditional spots - but I like seeing them when I open the door, instead of piles of stuff!

Congratulations on clearing your stash! I have tried not to accumulate a lot of fabric, but you are right, it is so incredibly addicting. I just try to think that when I die, my family is going to think of my fabric as clutter.

Hey that would be a biggie to any of us with out-of-control stashes! Congratulations on your accomplishment!

A few months back I cleared a lot of old stuff from my stash and gave it away. That freed up a whole cabinet in my sewing room. What a wonderful feeling that was! I still have the cabinet but now it's filled with some of the "stuff" that overflowed all over my space and made it so messy.

Hi, Bonnie, what are you going to put in the empty big white cupboard?? We all want to see the new chairs. It must feel SO good to bust some of your stash. I've been an antiques and collectibles collector all my life (then there's the art supplies and we all know about the quilt supplies and fabric) and I often think about what you said, that it is so strange that we have the time of our lives when we collect and then the time when we try to get rid of the darn stuff only by that time we've fallen in love with everything (!).